Finding What Was Hidden
by Hellewise Harman
Summary: ON HIATUS DUE TO TECHNOLOGICAL FAILURE AND WRITERS BLOCK. WILL EVENTUALLY GET BACK ROUND TO IT! After the death of Dumbledore, the entire wizarding world is baying for Snape's blood. Harry has become obsessed with the quest for Snape...
1. Chapter 1

On a cold, dark, normal street at 11 pm precisely, a group of people were whispering conspicuously,

'Quick, no one's around, let's do it!'

'Where's my wand gone?'

'Are you sure? I swear I just saw number three's curtains twitching.'

'I can't find my wand.'

'What do you mean you can't find your wand? You had it a second ago!'

'I can't find it!'

'The lights are out, the muggles are gonna start getting suspicious soon, we have to hurry...'

'I wouldn't worry. They'll probably think it was the Ginembus Thraits again. They're always cutting off muggle power supplies.'

'Or you could just hit them with a confundus charm if you see one'

'The Muggles or the Ginembus Thraits?'

'Guys I still can't find my wand...'

'Get a grip Neville, it's sticking out of your pocket!'

'Oh, thanks Ron.'

'It's now or never'

'Will you lot shut up, you're going to let him know we're here.'

'Honestly, you wouldn't think we'd been planning this for months now.'

'Yes, hurry up already, someone's going to see us!'

'Let's get on with it!'

'Before _He_ knows we're here. Tonks?' Harry turned towards the witch sporting bubblegum pink hair.

'Right follow me everyone, remember, 'constant vigilance' as Alastor would say, although he doesn't seem to have heeded his own advice very well, what with being locked up in his own trunk for the best part of a year...'

'Tonks!'

'Right, right! As I was saying, you know the drill, we've practised it enough times. Here we go kids, on the count of three, one two THREE!' Tonks, raised her wand and shot out three short bursts of light as a signal to the rear guard staking out the back of the house and led the charge up the front path of the final abode of the row of terraces collectively known as Spinners End.

The front door was blasted off its hinges by a jet of green light and the group charged straight through into the shabby living room- the empty, shabby living room. They all stood panting warily, wands raised at the ready for any sudden movement. Suddenly, the bookcase directly opposite the door was blasted open, revealing not the target of this mission, but an out of breath werewolf and a cursing Auror.

Moody stomped into the room, barking obscenities as he advanced towards the others, who lowered their wands as they recognised his unmistakable profile, 'Gone! Scarped, the no good lying rat! We had him! Lupin cornered him. But then he loosened his grip after we heard his sob story and he was off in a flash. Wouldn't have happened if I'd caught him the filthy little...'

'You let Snape get away? He could be anywhere by now! He's gotten away with it again! He killed Dumbledore!!! Am I the only person who remembers that?' The boy-who-lived's voice was sharp and full of unbridled anger.

Since witnessing Dumbledore's death, he had been obsessed with hunting down the man he hated almost as much as Voldemort and there was nothing any of his nearest and dearest could do to appease his rage. It was Harry who insisted they keep trying to locate Snape, Harry, not Hermione, who had staked out the Hogwarts library looking for locator spells and Harry who had finally found what he was looking for in the restricted section in a book called '_A Dish Served Cold_'. It was Harry who had painstakingly combed through the former Potion Masters classroom and study for a full two weeks looking for the required trace amounts of hair and blood to add to the required locator spell. Years of playing the double agent as well as his profession had made Snape particularly careful about that sort of thing. A single strand of hair if placed in the wrong hands could be enough to kill you. At least this was what Harry hoped. He had shown enormous patience waiting for the potion to brew, another precious fortnight lost. He had shown even more fortitude by taking his discovery to the Order and letting Tonks and Moody plan and lead the assault. He held his tongue when they insisted that the assault would be more successful with more people and had even suggested using some of the better and more loyal members of the DA to do this. He had waited patiently as the seeds of the plan were formed and the designated night of the attack rolled around, all the while, the desire for revenge stirring in his heart until he could hear it's presence with its every beat, each breath he took seemed to countdown to the lusted after moment. And now, finally, the chance for him to exact his revenge on the hated Snape, the man who had made his life a misery since he was 11 years old, the man who was directly responsible for his mother and father's deaths, the man who murdered Dumbledore, the man who had made Voldemort his mortal enemy, had slipped away because Lupin was a soft touch. He could feel the hate welling up inside him, could feel it distorting his features as he glared at Moody's companion.

'No, not Snape Harry.' Remus Lupin raised his hand in a calming gesture that had no effect on Harry's temper whatsoever. 'Peter Pettigrew. Apparently he's been hiding out here for some time on the orders of the Dark Lord. He said he hasn't seen Snape in weeks, months! Not since the night Dumbeldore died.'

'A likely story indeed!' Scoffed Moody

'I believe him,' Remus turned to Moody, whose magical eye was spinning round and round at a frenetic pace. 'Before all this, I knew Peter Pettigrew, and I know when he is lying and when he is telling the truth.'

'You didn't know when Black was though did ya?' Growled Moody 'He went to Azkaban for 13 years before your lie detecting abilities were proved right!'

'That's not fair Alastor! No one knew abut Sirius, not even you! Pettigrew fooled us all' Interjected Tonks

'Well what makes ya think he hasn't done it again hmm?'

'That's enough!' Everyone stopped and turned towards the speaker. Hermione Granger stood with her hands on her hips glaring at everyone who dared meet her eyes. 'This doesn't really matter right now. What matters is Snape obviously isn't here and after tonight he's not likely to come back. I know we all wanted to catch him and make him pay for what he did to Dumbledore but that's not going to happen tonight so we should all stop attacking each other about it! So let's just take the opportunity to look around and find any clues which might lead us to him in the future. Alright?' She raised an eyebrow as she glanced around at her companions. 'Agreed then.' She nodded her bushy head as everyone started to silently move around the book lined room searching for a better understanding into the mind which was Severus Snape.

Harry wandered over to a rickety end table upon which several old and well-read looking books were stacked precariously at opposing angles. Neville jumped violently backwards into him, sending the tower of books tumbling to the ground as the bookcase he was inspecting swung open to reveal a concealed stone staircase. A soft, yellow light shone from somewhere at the bottom of the stairs, illuminating the figure standing upon them.

Ten wands simultaneously pointed at the girl dressed in a heavy winter coat holding a plate of sandwiches in one hand and a glass of pumpkin juice in the other. She starred open mouthed at the group for a second before promptly dropping the plate and glass to the floor. 'Who the bloody hell are you?' She demanded from behind her wand.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey all! I'm finally getting the hang of this posting malarkey, I hope! This is my first ever published fan fiction so I'm very sorry if I'm making any rookie errors or breaking the fan fiction codes of conduct. **

**This is a long chapter and I'll hopefully be updating sooner than this last time (I was very busy in my defence!) Hope you like it.**

**Thank to my reviewers and readers and remember that I always welcome comments and constructive criticism, so don't hesitate to send any of it my way.**

**p.s- disclaimer: All J.K's except my character.**

"Well then, is anyone going to answer me?" The girl's words were met by silence.

She glared at the odd mixture of people standing in the living room before her. The round faced boy who was wheezing slightly as he gripped his wand, which he pointed shakily in her direction, the pensive looking man with visible patches on his robes, Mad Eye Moody, (there was no way she could mistake him for anyone else), a blonde girl with what looked like radishes (???) for earrings and a witch who she could only assume was going through her punk rocker phase with hair like that. Her gaze lingered on the red headed witch and two wizards who stood nearest her. She guessed from their close resemblance to each other that they were related; the older wizard looked like the other two's father. Lastly, her gaze fell on a bushy haired witch who had been crouched on the floor picking up a book from one of the lower shelves.

Finally, she reluctantly let her eyes return to the person she had seen first when she'd walked into the room. She had not expected to find Harry Potter standing in her living room when she woke up that morning, yet who else could he be? That messy black hair, the startling green eyes and the indisputable scar on his forehead confirmed to her what she had thought to be extremely unlikely, if not impossible. She was face to face with the infamous Mr Potter.

"Perhaps we can start with you telling us your name eh missy?" Mad Eyes unnatural eye was spinning at an alarming rate as he growled at her.

The girl cocked her head, shaking out long, loose mahogany curls. Harry guessed she was only a few years older than him but there was an air of self assurance and confidence about her which had initially led him to believe she was older. The girl fixed Moody with an unwavering gaze as she replied, "I think I should be doing the questioning Mr Moody, since it is you who have so rudely entered my home and," at this point her eyes flashed towards the gaping hole in the wall which the front door used to fill, "in such a manner." She finished.

"Oooo you live here? Well that's lucky! You can tell us where Professor Snape is. You see we've been trying to find him for a very long time now..."

"Bloody hell Luna! Just give everything away why don't you?" The tall gangly, red headed boy spoke, widening his eyes in disbelief at the blonde.

"Well, it makes sense to ask her Ronald, she might actually know something useful and we might actually catch Snape instead of running all over the British Isles looking for him." Luna sniffed. She turned back to the girl smiling whilst taking a step forward, "You'll help us won't you?"

The girl flourished her wand as Luna came closer, but whatever spell she had been planning on casting was drowned out by several cries of 'expelliarmus' which sent her wand flying.

"Accio wand!" Tonks shouted, opening her hand to receive it as it hurtled across the room.

"Well that wasn't very friendly," said Luna. "We can't expect her to help us unless we're at least nice to here you know."

"True." Said Tonks, "But I'd think I'd prefer it if we questioned her unarmed." She turned towards the girl, gesturing towards the shabby sofa, "Please, have a seat."

Resentment, then resignation flashed across the girls face as she slowly moved over to the couch and sat down, the various members of the Order crowding around her.

Mad Eye stuck a hand into his robes and brought out a small phial of clear liquid which he silently handed to Tonks. "I'm sure you know what this is?" She enquired, shaking the bottle lightly in front of the girl's face, who gave a barely perceptible nod in ascent. "Good" said Tonks, "then you know what I'm going to ask you to do, bearing in mind that you are outnumbered and unarmed so you really don't have a choice in the matter."

"Fine." The girl said with gritted teeth. "I'll co operate. That is, as long as you do one thing for me first." Hermione snorted derisively from the back of the group. The girl shot her a look.

"Sort the door out please. This is a muggle street and whilst it's mostly deserted, you do have the odd person walking around and, thanks to your particular brand of entrance, anyone can now see right in. I'm sure you're supposed to be acting under some degree of secrecy, or you would have sent word you were coming."

Remus gave a small nod of ascent and gave a quick flick of his wand, which lifted the door from the position which it had fallen on the floor and placed it back on its hinges, shutting out the noise of distant police sirens and the glow from the now relit street lamps. Arthur Weasley, who had immediately craned his neck with interest to peer out of the door at the girl's mention of the word 'muggle', looked distinctly disappointed as the door slammed shut.

"Done." Remus turned to the girl and gestured to the bottle that Tonks still held in her hand. 'Now, if you would be so kind.'

The girl rolled her eyes and sunk back into the couch, opening her mouth as Tonks carefully dribbled three drops of the Veritaserum into her mouth. She swallowed as Tonks drew her hand away, re-stoppered the bottle and handed it silently back to Moody.

After waiting a few moments in silence, Moody, leaning heavily on his stick, narrowed his one good eye at the girl. "What's your name girl?"

"Dani."

"Dani what?"

"Evanson."

"What are you doing here?"

"Well right now, I'm being interrogated." The girl quipped truthfully.

"Maybe you should have given her more of that stuff Nymphadora. It doesn't seem to be working all that well."

"For the last time Alastor, its Tonks and you know as well as I do that dose was more than enough." She turned towards the girl. "So, what do you think of my name then? Good choice don't ya think?"

"Hardly. But at least it's weirder than mine. I mean, I thought Danrelle was bad but Nymphadora takes the biscuit," came the quick reply. The girl's eyes widened and she immediately clamped a hand over her mouth. "Sorry..." She mumbled apologetically.

"Well," Said Tonks straightening, "That settles it. The only person who has ever liked my name is my mother, more's the pity. She is telling the truth." She folded her arms across her chest and leant against the nearest wall.

Lupin moved forward and sat in the place which Tonks had vacated. "Did you say you lived here?" He asked tentatively.

"Yes." Dani replied.

"For how long?"

"A while now."

"With who?"

"Severus Snape."

"And what relation is he to you?" Pressed Lupin, not sure of what he expected to hear next.

"He's my Godfather."

An audible hiss was heard around the room from the multiple intakes of breath that many present had taken.

Harry clenched his left hand into a fist, his nails cutting deep into his palm whilst his right hand gripped his wand even tighter than before. He starred at the floor, his jaw clenched.

"She's lying." The words had slipped out before he'd even realised he'd said them.

The girl, 'Dani' as she'd called herself turned big hazel eyes towards him. "I'm not. I can't." She said simply.

"I don't think she is Harry." Lupin said with a sigh, running a hand over his face in a tired gesture.

"Oh come on Lupin!" Harry gave a nasty laugh, "You can't really believe that no one in the Order knew that Snape had a secret goddaughter all this time, it's just not possible. Snape's set this up to throw us off his scent. For all we know she _is _Snape." He gestured towards the figure on the couch.

The group unanimously turned doubtful eyes to the girl and then back to Harry. He sighed exasperatedly. "Polyjuice Potion."

"Ok Harry lets do it your way. Are you in fact Severus Snape under the influence of Polyjuice Potion?" From the strained expression on his face, Lupin's patience was being tried, but he asked the question anyway. He wanted to erase any doubts from Harry's mind and it was always better to be safe than sorry.

A look of amusement flickered momentarily over the girls face. "No I'm not." She answered.

"And," Lupin continued, holding up a hand to silence Harry as his mouth opened again, "are you who you say you are and not somebody else under the influence of the Polyjuice potion or any other appearance changing potion or spell which could affect the way we view you?"

"No I'm not." She said levelly, looking directly at Harry, who, although slightly dejected, was still scowling at her with dislike.

"Well, the idea was a bit far fetched." Ginny had moved to place a hand on Harry's tense shoulders in support. He shrugged it off, not wanting any as he glared angrily at the girl. Ginny took a dejected step backwards, her arms falling back to her sides.

"That still doesn't explain how none of us have ever heard of this said goddaughter. Start telling us the truth." He demanded.

"Perhaps Professor Dumbledore did?" Suggested Hermione, shifting uncomfortably at the glare her best friend shot in her direction in response.

"Oh, so someone other than me does actually remember he existed. Do you also remember why we're here? _She_ can tell us where _he_ is if you'll just stop tiptoeing around and ask the right questions..." Harry took an involuntarily step forward just as Arthur Weasley placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"That's enough now Harry." He said sternly, peering at him from over his spectacles. "You're not helping." He looked around the room at his children and their school friends. "Come on you lot." He said. "Maybe you should step outside with me and see what's happened to the back up guard, otherwise known as my sons eh? Let's leave it to the professionals." Mr Weasley began to steer Harry towards the door begrudgingly followed by the others.

As they were walked out the door, he could just make out over the sound of blood rushing through his ears a small voice asking a very important question, "What do you mean 'existed'?" He was too mad to think about what the question meant.

They stepped outside into the cool night air, just as Fred and George came storming up the front path, red faced and huffing. Hermione, the last to leave the room, made a point of leaving the front door ajar.

"Where have you two been?" Arthur looked his sons up and down, taking in the scruffy appearance of the twins muddied and torn robes.

"We were guarding the back door just in case Snape tried to escape like we were supposed to..." said George

"When we heard this yell from upstairs..." continued Fred

"And then we heard this really loud scuttling noise and who should appear from out of the bushes? None other than the old family pet, Scabbers! Fred jumped on him, but he bit him and he let him go. We sent a message to Kingsley, he's searching for him from the air, although how he's supposed to spot him from a broom I don't know." George scowled at his brother.

"I lost my grip, I did not let him go!" Insisted a very irritated Fred.

"Seems to be a lot of that going round..." Mad Eye added sarcastically, as he followed the group outside the house, blocking the doorway behind him with a pointed look at Hermione, who had the grace to blush slightly.

"What do you mean?" George asked.

"Lupin and I caught up with Pettigrew upstairs on the landing but he transformed mid-conversation and got away."

"Mangy rat." Fred looked down at his feet muttering darkly. "When I think how long he was under our roof. All the times George and me practised spells on him, we should have hexed him to kingdom come. And then he does a runner and no one can find him and then to top it all off, he's been hiding out at Snape's place all this time!" Fred's eyes suddenly widened. "Say, where is the greasy haired git? Have you killed him already? I wanted to see him squirm."

"He's not here." Ginny said quietly. "But _she_ is."

"What are you talking about?" George peered around the bulk of Moody to where his sister had gestured "Who's she?"

"That's what we're trying to find out."

"Yeah, except she's lying." Harry spat the sentence out.

"Haven't they given her Veritaserum?"

"They did."

"She's lying under Veritaserum?" Fred's asked, open mouthed.

"She's not lying, Harry. That bottle was from the Order's private stock, it's the best on the planet." Hermione reasoned with him.

"Oh if it's from the _private _stock it must work! Come on Hermione! If it was from the Order's stock, Snape made it. He probably made fake stuff so he could help his 'Dark Lord'."

"No matter what he has done, Snape was still the best potions maker the Order had Harry. Besides, Dumbledore put the strictest checks in place to make sure that no one tampered with the stores and that all the potions were genuine. It's the real stuff." Mr Weasley said tiredly.

Tonks' voice floated on the night air in the silence that followed. "So if Snape is your guardian, what happened to your parents?"

"They're dead. Voldemort killed them in the war."

Harry couldn't take it anymore. "That's it, I'm out of here." He turned angrily and began to storm down Spinner's End.

"Harry! Come back!"

"It's not safe."

"I don't care!" Yelled Harry over his shoulder. "I can't stand around here wasting time when Snape's still running free."

Ron ran after his friend. "Look, Harry mate, I know this is a disappointment after all your hard work to find Snape. And you know I couldn't wait to get my hands on him either." The expression on his face was dark as he said this. "But they're right you know. It's not safe for any of us to be running off alone right now and besides, this Dani girl is the best lead we have right now to find Snape. Maybe we should stay and listen to what she has to say..."

"No! That spell was perfect Ron. It led us here because Snape _was_ here. And we've been wasting our time here instead of following him, and now it's probably too late. You do what you want; I'm going back to Sirius'." He strode a few paces more down the road before glancing around quickly. He turned and apparated before Ron could say another word.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey all! Really sorry this took so long to update. Been very busy with Christmas and New Year and then my computer decided to break. Typical isn't it? Never mind, it's all fixed now. Some reviews would be nice…**

Remus Lupin sighed. It had been a very, very long day. Not only had he been up at the crack of dawn after only an hours sleep, spilt scalding coffee on his only clean shirt, the resulting stain of which was still highly, embarrassingly visible and he kept his travelling coat on to hide it, that and the house he sat in on Spinner's End was freezing. He was perched on the arm of a shabby chair, resting his elbows on his knees as he ran both his hands tiredly through his ageing hair. He stifled a yawn as the pink haired witch next to him shifted carelessly in her seat, her elbow sending a stack of papers tumbling to the floor. She blushed, clashing wonderfully with her bubblegum hair, as she quickly gathered up the fallen papers and placed them back upon the table. Remus felt the corners of his mouth twitching into a small smile. The only bright point in this entire miserable day was seeing Tonks. She brought sunshine and light into his dull grey life in a way no one had ever had before. It was with great reluctance that he tore his gaze away from hers. After all, there was a reason they were both sat in Severus Snape's front room, a place he never thought he'd see. He could just see Sirius and James now, shaking their heads at their friends.

"_Remus mate, you've got free reign on Snivellus' place and you're sat on his couch? Where's your sense of fun gone Moony? At least charm his toilet to back up the next time he flushes it..." _

"_Always the prefect, never the prankster."_

"_Bloody useless without us, right James?"_

"_Couldn't find his own tail without us pointing it out for him Sirius."_

"_He's even worse than Wormtail..."_ Remus' thoughts turned darkly to the situation at hand.

Lupin thought carefully before looking up at the girl opposite him. He didn't have much longer before the effects of the Veritaserum wore off and he wanted to get as much information as possible. He gave the girl, Dani, a level, penetrating stare. He didn't know what he expected her to say next, but he had a feeling he wasn't going to like it.

"Severus is your godfather?" He asked again, more to let the idea germinate in his own mind rather than for affirmation from Dani.

"Yes." She looked at him impatiently. "You might want to start asking some other questions; I think this stuff is starting to wear off." She blinked her eyes innocently at him.

"Alright then, if he is your godfather, who are your parents?"

"Can't tell you I'm afraid."

"What do you mean you can't tell us? You've been given Veritaserum!" Tonks almost sprang up from her seat. Lupin placed a restraining hand on the impatient Aurors arm.

"I mean I don't know."

"How can you not know? You know, I think Moody was right. Maybe we should have given her more..." Tonks began looking round for the bottle of Veritaserum.

"He never told me, no matter how much I asked." Dani's tone was bitter; she almost spat the words out. "And before you suggest anything, I have tried everyway under the sun to find out about them, it's like all records of them have been blasted from the earth, including their names. Wouldn't surprise me if he actually did it just to spite me..." Dani crossed her arms defensively across her chest.

Tonks and Remus exchanged a loaded glance.

Lupin cleared his throat and swallowed audibly "Umm have you ever... considered the possibility... that err..."

"Snape's my father? Yeah, when I was nine, I brewed a paternity potion in the school holidays. Got grounded for a week and had to alphabetise his library when he realised half his stock of salamander blood was missing." She nodded her head towards the mountains of books piled up and filed around the room. "And he keeps half of them at Hogwarts. Still, one down at least. Only another couple of million people to cross off the list via process of elimination huh? "

"So you have no clues to their identity whatsoever."

"Nothing usefuland it's not for want of trying either. I've looked up records I've cast revealing spells, I've eavesdropped, I've trawled through yearbooks, I've tried scrying for them, I've held a séance, hell, I even tried slipping him Veritaserum and I still know next to nothing." She got to her feet and began pacing backwards and forwards across the worn carpet, her arms remaining defensively crossed across her chest. She glanced briefly at her two inquisitors as she pushed a lock of hair behind her ear before gnawing her finger in an anxious gesture.

"I-I look at every face I see in the street looking for some sort of resemblance to mine. I double check every wizard photo I see if anyone in it smiles like me or laughs like me. I'd check in every phonebook if there was an 'Evanson' who lived near or had my first name or even if I had a 'feeling' about. Once or twice I even went to the phone box on the corner and rang them to hear their voices to see..." She took a long shaky breath, in a visible attempt to regain her composure. She gave them a weak smile. "Anyway, to answer your question, no I don't know anything tangible about them. Little bits and pieces he's let slip over the years, like I laugh like my mother or that my father liked flying but nothing important. If I didn't know better I'd say he didn't really _know_ them, though in that case how he ended up my godfather is beyond me."

"Alright then let's try a different set of questions." Tonks stared hard at Dani who had sunk back into the sofa by this point. "You said you don't know where Snape is and that you haven't heard from him in weeks, why don't you know? Where have you been and what made you come back?"

"I've been out of the country, on a mission for Dumbledore and the Order. I haven't been receiving or sending any owls, we didn't want to give away my position and I was made temporarily un-plottable, so that no one could find me. I wasn't meant to hear from anyone. I came back because I've got information which I'm to deliver in person." Surprisingly, Dani paused and smiled rakishly at this point, her eyes sparkling in triumph. "Oh I won't tell you what it is. Your Veritaserum is useless. You see, right now I'm very proud of myself for inventing and casting a charm so that only one person can receive that information regardless of any other potion or spell so even if you're going to Imperius me you won't find out what I know because you are not Albus Dumbledore." She shot them a dazzling, smile and a blazing challenging look. "Shame your report to Fudge and his weak excuse for a ministry won't be as enlightening as you'd hoped." She paused, waiting for a reaction. "Hmm? Cat got your tongue?" She asked after her declaration was met with silence.

Tonks and Lupin exchanged a quick glance with each other.

"You have information you're supposed to deliver to Dumbledore?" Tonks' brow was furrowed.

"Yes."

"And you think we're from the ministry?"

"Well unless I'm much mistaken and that isn't Mad Eye Moody, arguably the most famous Auror in the service of not only the Ministry for Magic but the world, standing guard outside the door then I have no idea who you people are." She replied pleasantly.

Not much got past this girl obviously. Lupin decided to take a risk. "If I were to tell you that my good friend Fawkes recently passed away whilst tickling a sleeping dragon, what would you say?"

Dani's eyes widened as she reorganised the Order code. "I'd say he'll be back in a day to try again. You're all in the Order? I didn't realise there were so many."

"Well it's a big job. But you're not an official member, even if you have been sent on a mission. After all, none of us have ever met you before." Lupin rested his elbows on his knees as he leant forward in his seat.

Dani looked at him carefully, pursing her lips before speaking. "Or, I am an Order member and you lot are claiming to be something you're not." She blinked slowly. "Nevertheless, officially, no, I'm not a member. Dumbledore didn't seem too worried about making it official. He didn't think it was a necessary requirement to a mission."

"Alright then, what is that you've found out?" Tonks was stood up now, hands on hips.

"The Death Eaters have struck up a deal with the Giants; they've got them ready to move on command." Dani's eyes widened as she ended her statement. She looked confused. "Wait that's not possible, unless... Oh God." She sank back into the sofa her hand over her mouth as she stared at something unseen on the worn rug. "He's dead isn't he? That's the only way for the charm to break..." She took a deep breath. "How? When?"

"Well…"

Suddenly the conversation was interrupted with loud cries from the street and a shot of green energy blasted through the window, making all three of them duck.

"Tonks! Lupin! Get out here now!" Moody bellowed from the street.

Tonks barrelled outside whilst Lupin pulled his wand out from the inner pocket of his robes. "You'll have to come with us. Stay close; you don't have your wand."

"Fine." They ran out into the street to join the skirmish.

Several black robe clad figures with masks were attacking the ramshackle group in the street. She cursed mentally at the chaos in the street. Thank God most of the houses were abandoned, or their owners were too old or too depressed to notice or care about World War Three erupting on their doorsteps. Dani noticed the girl with the dirty blonde hair was bleeding from a cut on her forehead. The fight was not going well for the so called Order, probably because half of them were kids.

Arthur Weasley was yelling "Remus we can't hold out much longer!"

"Everybody inside now!" Tonks ordered, sending a disarming spell at the nearest Death eater. They all retreated back into the house. The Weasley twins taking up position by the front door whilst the house shook under the violence of the Death eater's attack.

Arthur Weasley, face drawn, was in no mood for argument. "Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Neville, Luna you're coming with me, no questions asked. Hurry up I've got an emergency portkey." He was holding a crushed can in his hand. "No arguments!" While they gathered around he looked at the twins by the door. "Be careful." He gave a quick nod to the older wizards and activated the portkey. The group in the middle of the room disappeared immediately.

"Everyone else, convene outside headquarters. Go!" Moody apparated quickly.

"Grab whatever you can quick; this door isn't going to hold much longer!" Fred (or was it George?) yelled.

Tonks swept up an armful of scribbled notes from the coffee table. Lupin turned quickly to Danrelle, "Is there anything important you need to take with you?"

"My bag, it's downstairs…"

"Accio bag!" Lupin caught the satchel as it flew through the air. "Is that it?"

She nodded.

"Right lets go then." He crossed the room and grasped her upper arm. "Fred, George, you get out of here the minute we've gone."

"Aww! I fancied sticking around!" George's face was turning red from the strain of physically and magically holding up the door.

"Don't joke!"

Dani felt the familiar sickening sensation which meant they were moving and it took her a moment to gain her bearings in the cool, quiet street, such a contrast to the scene they'd just left. A dingy sign to her left proclaimed their current position as 'Grimmauld Place.' The other Order members, including the Weasley twins, were all there.

"We'd better get inside."

"Wait a minute, should we really be showing her headquarters?" Fred was panting, bent over almost double in an attempt to get his breath back.

Everyone turned to look at Dani. She rolled her eyes and crossed the street before making her way up the flight of stone steps which belong to number twelve. She knocked on the door before turning around to face the others. "Lucky guess?" She smirked at their shocked faces. She put her hands on her hips, looking down at them from her vantage point. "Well hurry up then!" Her eyes darted round the dark street "You don't know who's around."

The door to number twelve creaked open, spilling light onto the darkened steps. Dani slowly turned around to face the unseen person. "Hi," she said.


	4. Chapter 4

Harry was furious. Not only had Snape (not to mention Pettigrew) slipped through their hands, yet again, but everyone though he was loosing it, including his best friend. That was worse than anything else, even Ron was beginning to doubt his sanity. Mind you, it wasn't as if he'd never done it before. In the second year when he could hear the Basilisk roaming around the school Ron and Hermione had started doubting his sanity, but that wasn't for long. And he had never before seen that look of pity which had crept into Ron's eyes earlier. That look that said he was starting to think of him not as his best friend, but as a damaged and broken young man. Someone who had lost almost everything and everyone he'd ever cared about. That look which said that he thought that the loss of his mentor as well as his godfather had finally tipped Harry over the edge. He didn't think he could cope with being a pity case to his best mate.

Hermione wasn't so bad. She'd always made it perfectly clear when she thought he was wrong, he was used to it by now. Besides, no matter how irritating it could be, he had learned long ago not to question her judgement. And it was always good to have someone pull him and Ron back down to earth when they went off on one. But then again, Hermione had always said they should trust Snape and look what happened there. No, he could cope with Hermione worrying about him; after all it was part of her natural state. But the change he saw in the usually fun loving, easy going Ron disturbed him. Logically he knew that it wasn't all down to him, Ron had his own problems to worry about. His family had been through a lot in recent months.

The still weren't sure about the full extent of Bill's injuries from the attack by Greyback and the ongoing saga with Percy still wasn't resolved. Add to that the constant worry for every member of his family other than Ginny because of their involvement in the Order of the Phoenix and it was no wonder that Ron wasn't himself. Still, he couldn't help feeling like his best friend didn't trust his judgement anymore.

Harry apparated with a thump and staggered with the impact upon making contact with the ground. He'd been so rattled when he'd set off he was surprised he still had all his body parts intact. Cautiously, his hands reached up to feel for his eyebrows, the memory of Ron's apparition test clear in his mind. Satisfied that he was complete, he jogged up the stairs to Headquarters and slammed the door behind him, causing great clouds of dust to form in the hallway in the process. Despite Mrs Weasley's best efforts, the ancestral home of the once esteemed Black clan defied her cleaning charms, a new layer of dirt and grime appearing a day after the most merciless cleaning blitz. True, they had cleared out all the nasty little creatures like the Doxies and no Boggart would dare take up residence again, but the house still retained its general, grubby state.

Looking round, Harry felt a resigned depression mixing with his anger. Sirius had spent his whole life trying to get away from this awful place, only to spend the last few months of his life trapped within its walls. He wondered what had been worse for Sirius, thirteen years in Azkaban or having to come back here? Judging from the melancholy state which he was forced to associate with his godfather, he would have guessed here. His eyes lingered on a portrait covered by dark drapes that billowed softly, revealing the edge of a gilt frame. He strained his ears to hear the sounds of soft snoring coming from the general direction of the painting. He sighed in relief; he hadn't woken Mrs Black up, yet. Thinking about the woman in the painting brought another rush of memories back to him. He turned towards the stairs; he couldn't bear to look at the picture anymore. The realisation of just how hard it truly had been for Sirius to come back here, back to the house he despised, the house of the parents who disowned him, hit him in a wave which made him feel sick to his stomach. And for the foreseeable future, he too was condemned to this place. As long as the Order continued to use Grimmauld place as its HQ, he'd be confronted at every turn with memories that made him want to run back to Privet Drive and forget all about magic and what it had done to him. Sirius had not only left him his belongings, but the legacy of pain that came with them.

Down the other end of the hall, he heard the soft clanking of dishes which announced Molly Weasley's presence in the kitchen. He really didn't want to talk to anyone right now. Harry mounted the stairs two at a time just in case and turned onto a dark corridor with a mind to go and see Buckbeak.

As he quietly entered the darkened room, the Hippogriff stirred and bowed its head in greeting to him. Buckbeak got to his legs and began to circle Harry, his feathered head nudging under his arms. It took Harry a few moments to realise that the Hippogriff probably hadn't been fed and was looking to Harry to ease his hunger pangs.

"Alright alright, I'll go get you some food then." Harry murmured, patting Buckbeak's neck and receiving a blinking of the creature's eyes as a reply.

As he quietly stepped outside and closed the door with a soft click, he noticed a small figure down the other end of the dark corridor. Kreacher was bent over, looking even more withered than usual, muttering to himself as he carried out his business. After the infiltration of the school by Death Eaters on the night that Dumbledore died, it had been thought best for Kreacher to return back to Grimmauld Place for the time being. Kreacher had already found a way to pass information to the Dark Side and his 'true' masters and no doubt he could again. Leaving him at Hogwarts was just asking for trouble. Keeping him at Grimmauld Place then was the definitely the safer, if more unpleasant, option. Unspotted, Harry began to creep towards him until he was close enough that he could hear what the elf was repeating to himself over and over again.

"Poor Mistress. Her lovely home over run by all of them. And her with all the nasty red haired children trying to change things. Kreacher won't see them ruin Mistress' home. Kreacher will save his family's house for Mistress Bellatrix. Kreacher will get rid of them all." He dipped his bony little hand into what looked like a sack and took out a handful of powder. He uncurled his claw like fingers and in a raspy breath blew the powder onto the walls and floor. Then he'd start the process all over again. Harry stood hidden in the shadows and watched the strange ritual as Kreacher began to pull the sack towards his hiding place. He stopped after a little while to survey his handiwork. A sly, repulsive grin formed on the wizened elf's face. "Good and Dusty." He nodded, pleased with himself before clicking his fingers. "Stick and don't come out!" A slight shimmering effect rippled down the portion of the corridor Kreacher had been working on and momentarily allowed Harry to see the mess the house elf had been making. The small section of corridor looked as though it hadn't been used in years. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling, the wallpaper looked old and stained and the patterned carpet was replaced by blanket of grey fuzz.

Kreacher bounced on the balls of his feet and clapped his hands together in glee. Harry couldn't believe it. The little runt was enjoying himself! It was his fault that Number 12 was so depressing. Now he was for it. Harry stepped out of the shadows, making the house elf squeak with fright at the murderous look on his face. "So this is what you've been up to is it? Come here you!" He lunged across the corridor, in a fit of rage but Kreacher, displaying a surprising agility, dodged his grasp and jumped onto and over his back towards the stairs, cradling something that Harry hadn't noticed before to his chest.

"What are you hiding Kreacher?" Harry bellowed as he scrambled to his feet.

"No no! Mean boy won't get it! Not his!" Kreacher declared as he ran towards the stairs, Harry in hot pursuit.

"Get back here, I haven't finished with you!" Harry yelled as he thundered down the stairs, clearing the last few in one giant leap which made the ancient floorboards reverberate. The portrait of Mrs Black began wailing loudly and set off the other paintings lining the hallway as Harry finally closed the distance between the house elf and himself, who although still struggling against the direct order, was still attempting to escape his master and safely stow away whatever it was he was hiding. "What have you been stealing now? Come here Kreacher! NOW!"

"HOW DARE YOU! YOU INSOLENT, FILTHY LITTLE MUDBLOOD LOVER! DEFILING MY HOUSE! YOU'RE A DISGRACE TO THE WIZARDING WORLD! YOU'RE NOT FIT TO HAVE WIZARD'S BLOOD RUNNING THROUGH YOUR VEINS! LEAVE, LEAVE! YOU DO NOT BELONG HERE! HOW DARE YOU ORDER MY ELF WHAT TO DO! HE ANSWERS ONLY TO THE NOBLE LINE OF BLACK…" The drapes to Mrs Black's portrait had flung open with the force of her fury. Her harpy like shrieks echoed through the house as her eyes stared demonically at the scene unfolding before her.

If it weren't for the shrieking Mrs Black, the scene would have been comical. When Harry had ordered Kreacher to come to him, it was if he had thrown an invisible lasso around the tiny elf's waist and had started to drag him forwards. Kreacher's spindly legs were taking stilted steps towards Harry whilst he twisted his torso in the opposite direction, clearly attempting to disobey the order, his bloodshot eyes darting around trying to find a means of escape. When he finally stood in front of Harry, he began hopping from foot to foot, the silvery object in his hands still clutched towards his skeletal chest. "My poor Mistress! His presence offends you!" Kreacher was obviously torn between his old Mistress and his new Master's orders.

"LEAVE THIS HOUSE!" Mrs Black was still shrieking

"SHUT UP YOU OLD HAG!" Harry bellowed back at the portrait. Mrs Black flinched in surprise; it had been years since anyone had dared yell at her like that. This didn't deter her for long however as she began her tirade once more,

"YOU DON'T BELONG HERE!"

"Actually, this is MY house and MY elf now. Your son Sirius gave them to me so maybe it's YOU who don't belong here!" Harry yelled back at Mrs Black.

"DON'T EVER MENTION THAT BLOOD TRAITOR OF A SON OF MINE IN MY PRESENCE! HE SENT ME TO AN EARLY GRAVE! HE DID THIS OUT OF SPITE, TO HAUNT ME THROUGH ALL ETERNITY! GO! GO! LEAVE ME TO MY MISERY!"

Turning his back on the portrait, Harry switched his focus back to the house elf and the object which he was still clinging onto. "Kreacher give that to me now!" Harry commanded through gritted teeth, his order almost drowned out by Sirius' mother as she shrieked and wailed in her painting.

Shaking his head and glaring up at Harry through resentful, bloodshot eyes, Kreacher slowly handed the silver frame to Harry before diving on the floor directly below the wailing portrait and sobbing. "Kreacher is sorry Mistress! Nasty Boy should leave, it's all HIS fault, Kreacher didn't mean to! Kreacher wouldn't give up priceless Black treasures! Oh my poor Mistress!" Mrs Black's shrieks of fury continued to ring throughout the house and brought Molly Weasley bustling out of the kitchen.

"What is going on?" She demanded after surveying the scene before striding over to the portrait of the wailing woman and firmly closing the fluttering black drapes, muffling the screams. Kreacher still sobbed on the floor in front of his old mistress, muttering all kinds of foul insults about Harry and the Order. The other paintings in the hallway could finally be heard now that Mrs Black was under control and Mrs Weasley busied herself by running up and down the hallway trying to pacify or stupefy them all into silence once more.

Harry ignored the commotion as he stared down at the object in his hands. It was a picture frame, his first assumption had been right. It was one of those deep, box frames with enough room to allow small objects to be displayed. But what was in it? Harry squinted as he brought the frame closer to his face, trying to make out what exactly Kreacher had prized so highly. All he could make out was the dust of what appeared to be centuries of grime lying in a thick layer ant the bottom of the frame. On a hunch he shook the box carefully and heard a soft rattling. There was definitely something inside there. Moving to stand directly below a light he tilted the frame until the object rolled into his sight, hitting the glass with a small clank. The dust covered object was spherical, but he still couldn't tell what it was exactly. He tilted the frame again to get a better view, his nose pressing up against the glass until he could make out a perfectly formed brown eyeball.

"AHHH!" with a yell Harry threw down the frame and Kreacher quickly crawled across the floor to retrieve it.

"What's is it?" Mrs Weasley asked from the other end of the hallway as she aimed a quick charm at a portrait of a wailing baby. Harry was pressed up against the wall, palms flat in an attempt to get as far away from the gruesome sight as possible. A voice in his left ear made him jump.

"I say! Do you mind not throwing me remains around boy? That glass eye cost me more three hundred years ago than all the clothes you own!" A stuffy looking man with a rather large moustache and one blue and one brown eye identical to the one in the frame sniffed from the portrait nearest Harry. A sign underneath bore his name as Algernon Black.

Kreacher had now retrieved the frame and he began polishing it lovingly with the edge of the filthy rags which he wore and hugging it to his chest again whilst Harry continued to stare at it with an open look of disgust open his face. "Your re-remains?" He asked.

"Yes boy! Me remains. I came to a rather sticky end ya know. Dragon Fire. The contents of that there frame is all that they could find of me. But me legend lives on. The most honourable establishment of Hogwarts changed their school motto in order to prevent such an occurrence from happening again. So you should afford me some respect and not go hurling the last remnants of my physical body around what was once me own hallway!"

Harry gulped. "Umm yes sir, sorry sir!"

"Good! That's settled then!" Algernon looked satisfied with the apology and shifted in his frame "And now," he continued, "If Walburga over there is done, I'm going to have forty winks. G' Night all!" he said and within about ten seconds he was snoring loudly.

Harry turned towards Kreacher. "Go and clear that mess you made upstairs Kreacher." He said tiredly. Kreacher got to his feet with the remains of Algernon Black still tucked under his arm. He bowed unnecessarily low as he answered, "Yes Master, of course Master, right away Master." And he quickly scampered off upstairs, no doubt conspiring against his 'Master' even as he obeyed his orders.

Molly Weasley came and joined Harry, placing an affectionate hand on his arm. "Are you sure you're feeling ok Harry dear?" She asked.

"I'm sure Mrs Weasley."

"It's just you're looking awfully pale dear, and you haven't been eating that well. You barely touched your breakfast…."

"Really Mrs Weasley, I'm fine." Harry was trying his best not to snap at the affable women who he viewed as a mother figure. Her insistent fussing however was making the task difficult.

"And I'm not the only one who's noticed Harry. We're all worried about you. Ever since Albus died…."

"He didn't die, he was murdered." He stated through gritted teeth.

"Well," Mrs Weasley looked momentarily taken aback, "The fact remains that you have not been yourself and well, you've been more than a little preoccupied with finding Snape, I'm guessing you didn't or you wouldn't be back." She took his silence as license to continue. "Now Harry dear, don't be mad with me, but maybe, perhaps it would be better if you left that to the Order and you concentrated on more important things like your studies and…"

Mrs Weasley was interrupted by a series of green flashing lights and whistles going off throughout the house. It had been Tonks' idea to set up a warning system around the house to let the Order know who was approaching Headquarters. The presence of Order members set off a green light and meant that everything was fine. A red light and alarm bells meant danger. Of course, the house could only be found if the Secret Keeper divulged its location, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Saved by the bell, Harry jumped towards the door just as an audible knock was heard. "I'll get it!" He yanked the heavy door open, spilling light onto the darkened street.

"Hi." Said the figure nearest the door.

"You!" He couldn't believe his eyes. It had been an awful day and now that annoying cow was standing in the doorway of Sirius' house- no _his_ house. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you to let us in before the Death Eaters follow us." Dani answered.

"Death Eaters?" Harry asked.

"For God's sake Harry let us in already!" George shouted from the back of the group.

Bemused, Harry stepped aside and everyone clattered inside. He could hear George and Fred's rather loud conversation as they filed past him towards their worried looking mother, who was craning her neck looking for her husband and two youngest children.

"How the bloody hell did she know?"

"Calm down mum, dad took Ron, Ginny and the others back to Hogwarts, they're fine. Maybe Snape told her?"

"He couldn't have you idiot, he was never the Secret Keeper."

"Oh right. Then how the bloody hell did she know?"

"Like I told your friends over there Dumbeldore told me all about the Order. He was going to make me a member but… well, he never got a chance." Dani addressed the twins from over her shoulder before leaning casually against the kitchen table arms folded.

Mrs Weasley ran to the stove to put the kettle on and began attending to those who'd sustained wounds in the skirmish. Seeing his puzzled look, Tonks turned to Harry, "We were attacked by Death Eaters, they must have followed us somehow." Molly Weasley almost dropped the bottle of antiseptic in her hand which she was using to dab a graze on George's elbow. "Death Eaters?" she whispered. "Are you sure you haven't been followed back?"

"Ay, we don't make the same mistakes twice Molly, don't worry."

The fireplace glowed bright green and out stepped Mr Weasley, Ron, Ginny and Hermione. "Neville and Luna are safe at Hogwarts. I couldn't persuade these three to stay." Mr Weasley greeted everyone with a small smile and gave his wife a peck on the cheek.

"Death Eaters Arthur?" His wife stared up into his face.

"Calm down Molly, we're all fine."

"We should never have let those children go, its too dangerous…"

"It's a dangerous world mum," George pointed out, "You can't protect everyone for ever."

"Still…"

"Perhaps," interjected Lupin, "It would be best if Tonks,Dani and I could tell you all what we discussed earlier and then someone could tell us about the Death Eater attack? Molly, I could really use a cup of your tea…"

"Oh, of course Remus." Mrs Weasley gave herself a little shake and began gathering cups, mugs and assorted tea things and placed them on the table as everyone vied for a seat, conjuring them where necessary.

When they were all sat, mugs of tea and biscuits in hand, Remus looked around the table. "Right then, where should we start?" he asked.


End file.
